Prospects of engaging in .NG Domain Names

Nigerian Internet Registration Association, NiRA, the body controlling domain name registration and usage in Nigeria, has been blazing the trail of making Nigerians come to terms in the actualization of the use the .NG domain in both private, business endeavours.

Daily Times gathered from NIRA that currently, only over 80,000. NG domain names have been registered which is a far cry; thereby making the .NG registry only second to South Africa in terms of the number of registrants.

Commenting on the advantages that accrues to the use of using the .NG domain name over the .Com domain name, Rev’d Sunday Folayan, President NIRA stated that a Nigerian business registered on the domain will be found faster online in Nigeria than one registered in the .Com registry.

He explained that as your business grows, you can then move outside Nigeria and there, you can register under the domain registrars in the countries you opened an office.

It is disheartening to note that while Nigeria has over 19 million Facebook users and over 37 million SMEs, it has far less than 100,000 .NG domain names as the citizens have not taking advantage of the .NG.

According to him, the big players in business understand the importance of tying their business to a locality which helps to ensure more visibility and patronage and urged the small businesses to do the same.

The President NIRA said at a recent media parley that to get more businesses to patronise and use the .NG domain name beyond what we presently have, there is need to enable more SMEs and MSMEs and by doing so reach over 37 million SMEs and MSMEs.

He, however, lamented that the prospect of having most SMEs and MSMEs adopting the .NG domain is hampered by factors such as the right education which could as well add value to the business.

For more people to accept the .NG domain, he said there must be payment assurance and confidence as well as the ability for them to use the devices, and cross the hurdles of the learning the curves in the use of technology.

He cited that South Africans use the .ZA domain but they are not compelled by any government policy to do so, adding that Germany also undertake all businesses using the .DE domain, which has hit the 5 million mark in registry.

He attributed this trend in these countries to their citizens appreciative of the rudiments of being nationalistic and identifying with their national brand, adding that NiRA is not out to coerce anyone to register the .NG domain, but to encourage Nigerian businesses and individuals to take pride in the .NG domain.

Commenting on the assertion that the .NG domain is expensive, he stated that the .NG domain is appropriately priced, and the pricing is based on the long-term sustainability of the registry so that it can continue to offer its services.

He also disclosed that NiRA is trying to solve the challenge of education of users; hence it established the NiRA Academy which is a DNS Centre of excellence in Nigeria that trains the needed manpower in all spheres related to the business and spheres that the Association operates such as Engineers, Technicians, Entrepreneurs, Policy makers, Internet governance, law enforcement, etc.

He said that NiRA is creating excitement to make this happen by creating the NiRA Awards which is now the flagship for businesses, Entrepreneurs and Startups to showcase what they are doing in the domain name industry.

Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) statistics of domain name registration for the months January, February and March 2017 released shows increased adoption of 17,610.

Rev’d Folayan stated that, by the time the .NG domain registration hits the one million mark, then between 200,000 and 400,000 businesses would have been created in the country.

He added that NiRA is trying to make this happen by creating the NiRA Awards which is now the flagship for businesses, Entrepreneurs and Startups to showcase what they are doing in the domain name industry coupled with the modus for price reduction of the .NG domain.

He urged corporate organisations, small businesses and individuals operating in Nigeria, to adopt the .ng domain name for their businesses in order to tap into a lot of opportunities that abound in .ng domain name, which is Nigeria’s identity in the cyberspace.

He decried the situation where most Nigerians still register their businesses with foreign domain names, like .com, .co.uk, and .ca, and still host their critical data outside Nigeria leading to capital flight and lost to the nation’s revenue.

He explained that it is not only wasteful to do so; in the conservation of its scarce foreign reserves, but it also creates some security risks and difficulties to reach the host, in times of emergency and urgent needs.

Commenting on NIRA response to internet abuse, especially with the rise of Ponzi schemes, he warned that the fraudsters are operating under various names and across various platforms.

He said that ‘Nigerians are being defrauded by various forms of Ponzi schemes’; hence NIRA set up a ‘Law Enforcement Desk’ to handle complaints on domain name related issues.
“Recently, innocent people’s contact details (such as Phone and Email) are been used as administrative contacts for these schemes.

“The victims of the identity theft only get to know when defrauded victims start to call, demanding for payments. Several people have received threatening phone calls, regarding their fate if they don’t pay up,” Folayan said.

He explained that NiRA has taken tangible steps to further assist law enforcement agencies to deal with the menace.

“NiRA has established a Law Enforcement Desk to handle complaints on Domain Name abuse. It has also developed an Internal Procedural Process to manage and deal with such complaints received in conjunction with relevant law enforcement agencies and is cooperating fully with them, to stem the tide.

“If you discover any form of Internet abuses with .ng websites please send an email to abuse@nira.org.ng. We will deal with it. Together we can make the Internet safe for us and our children”, he admonished Nigerians.

The Association said, its operations are guided by polices that relate with the nation’s Cultural values.

“For instance, NiRA does not allow profane words, certain obscene words and vulgar words for .ng domain name registration. NiRA also maintains closed domains for some of its .ng extensions (zones) e.g. gov.ng, edu.ng, mil.ng, net.ng, sch.ng. Registration under these closed zones must be verified before the registration can be done.

Daily Times recalls that NiRA on February 28, 2017 temporarily blocked DomainKing.ng, an Indian based .ng Country Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) accredited registrar for alleged negligence of duties to clients’ requests, especially for refusal to respond to escalated support queries and emails from its clients forwarded to it by the .ng Registry.

However, on Friday 24th March 2017, an official representative of Hannu Internet Corp PVT LTD, the manager of DomainKing.ng, informed the .ng Registry that since 20th March 2017, the organization had re-opened its support channels, commenced resolving clients’ queries and has commenced preparations for full operations as a .ng Accredited Registrar.

The officer also reported how they are cooperating with their clients to provide them with support and other services beyond registering .ng domain names.

Confirming the development, Edith Udeagu, Chief Operating Officer, NiRA, said in a press statement made available to Daily Times that NIRA Board has evaluated and assessed the situation of Domainking.ng. “Hannu Internet Corp PVT Ltd has responded to the .ng

Registry within the allowed grace period with an outline on its dealings with its clients and its eagerness to return to full operations.

“As from Monday 27th March 2017, NIRA has lifted the temporary suspension of Hannu Internet Corp PVT Ltd. However, the Registrar will not be able to register new domains for another two weeks, as the .ng Registry continues to monitor its activities and the way it resolves pending customer issues.

“Please note that during the period that Domainking.ng was not available to attend to its .ng clients, those clients who requested for the transfer and renewal of their .ng domain names were able to do so,” she said.